Feast of Shadows by Rick Wayne

Author:Rick Wayne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rick Wayne
Published: 2019-07-19T05:00:00+00:00

They left me in the middle of nowhere. It took hours to walk to the nearest train, and the sun was already well into the sky by the time I got home. I was exhausted. I turned the corner to my street, anticipating the most powerful of power naps, when I noticed the black limo waiting for me in the morning sun. It sat across the street from my flat, all sleek and curvy, like a reef shark. I slurped the last dribbles of the smoothie I’d bought to silence my stomach and tossed the cup into a trash can before passing the rear of the vehicle on the driver’s side.

Bouncerman rolled the window down.

“Mr. Rottheim has heard nothing from you.”

“I mailed him a full report,” I said without stopping. “Typed and double-spaced with proper margins and everything. Mrs. Cho would be very proud. He should have it tomorrow.”

“He gave you a lot of money. He expects results.”

“Well, I tell you what.” I started walking backward across the street. “If I don’t deliver, I promise I won’t ask for more. How’s that?”

“He’s wondering if you require additional motivation.”

I stopped. It was the way he said it. Made me wanna kick him in the balls.

“Is that a threat?”

Bouncerman got out and held the door. “He would like a word.”

I’d already been ditched on the side of the road and made to wait forever for a cab. I really didn’t want to spend another hour in the car to wait an unspecified period of time to get yelled at by a guy who was maybe ten years older than me, at most.

“We all want things.” I turned for the door.

“Ms. Song,” he called insistently.

I didn’t stop.

“Cerise!”

It was Luke’s voice—sounding like my dad yelling at me to stop putting noodles in my little cousin’s hair. His head was poking from the back of the limo. I shit you not, he was in the douche uniform: khakis and a striped polo under a white cardigan with a colorful border.

“I’m working on it,” I called. I waggled my hand to shoo him away. “Go foreclose on people’s homes or inflate the price of lifesaving medicines or whatever gets you off at the club.”

“Do we have to shout?” He looked around. “Can you get in the car? Please?”

I sighed and walked back to the limo. Bouncerman shut the door behind me and walked around to the other side. It was very quiet. I was facing Luke, who looked like he’d taken a turn. His eyes were dark and I got the sense he’d been coughing, which was maybe why Bouncerman had stepped out first. Boss hadn’t been able to speak. Sideburns, the black guy with the long face who’d searched my loft, was in the driver’s seat, glowering menacingly through the rear-view mirror.

“Hey,” I said to him as his partner got back in the car.

Luke checked his very expensive watch. “$800,000,” he said. “And counting. Some of your competitors have some very promising leads.”

“Good for them.”

“They send me daily reports.

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